VETERINARIANS: GUARDIANS OF FOOD AND HEALTH
Dr. Suresh Chinnathambi1*, Dr.V. Sujatha2 Dr. Ranganath, G. J. 3 and Parthasarathy Mahadevan4
1-Assistant Professor and Head, Veterinary UniversityTraining and Research Centre, Nagapattinam,
Tamil Nadu– 611 001, TANUVAS.
2-Assistant Professor and Head, Department Veterinary Physiology and Biochemistry, Veterinary College and
Research Institute, Orathanadu, Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu – 614 625, TANUVAS.
3-Scientist- Animal Science, ICAR- Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Uttara Kannada, Banavasi Road, Sirsi-581401,
University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad
4-Technician, Veterinary University Training and Research Centre, Nagapattinam – 611 001, TANUVAS.
* Corresponding author Email: drsureshthambi@gmail.com
Veterinarians act as critical guardians of food and health by securing the food chain from farm to fork, ensuring food safety and security, and protecting public health through a
“One Health” approach. This function, which serves as the topic for World Veterinary Day 2026, emphasizes their efforts to produce milk, eggs, and meat, prevent zoonotic disease, ensuring residue-free animal products, and promote sustainable farming.
The goal of World Veterinary Day 2026 is to increase public awareness and policy recognition of veterinary care as a vital component of safe and sustainable food systems. By keeping an eye on animal health, minimizing residues, and overseeing food processing hygiene, veterinarians guarantee the safety of milk, meat, and eggs. Veterinarians are essential to India’s production of eggs, meat, and milk because they manage animal health, increase productivity, and prevent zoonotic infections, all of which contribute to food security and safety. In order to fulfill growing domestic and international demand, they improve rural livelihoods by enforcing disease control measures, applying scientific, sustainable husbandry techniques, and inspecting food quality. When it comes to total milk production, India is the world’s top producer. India is the world’s biggest producer of meat, eggs, and milk. During 2014–15 and 2022–2023, productivity rather than herd increase drove the output of milk, eggs, and meat. India produced 247.87 million tonnes of milk (first globally), 149.11 billion eggs (second globally), and 10.50 million tonnes of meat (fourth globally) in 2024–2025, according to the Basic Animal Husbandry Statistics 2025. All sectors had increases in production, with meat up 2.46%, eggs up 4.44%, and milk up 3.58% over the prior year.
Additionally, veterinarians encourage entrepreneurship in integrated farming systems, dairying, and poultry, goat, and pig farms. They assist farmers in implementing affordable technology, controlling risks, and strengthening market connections through scientific advising services. One of the agricultural sectors in India that is expanding the fastest is the poultry industry. By maintaining flock health, biosecurity, immunization programs, feed efficiency, and welfare requirements, veterinarians support this expansion. Veterinary advice is crucial for production, illness prevention, and long-term growth in backyard and commercial poultry systems. Veterinarians also help value addition, traceability, animal welfare, and quality assurance in the dairy and meat industries.
Veterinarians collaborate with human health and environmental experts to address shared health threats, ensuring sustainable, humane, and secure food systems. Protecting livestock and poultry from disease improves food security and increases the availability of nutritious animal-source foods. Veterinary professionals are on the front lines during pandemics, food shortages, and environmental crises. Implementing the Nationwide Artificial Insemination Programme (NAIP) (covering over 600 districts) and utilizing new technologies like the ‘Gau Chip’ (cattle) and ‘Mahish Chip’ (buffalo) for genomic selection Managing, vaccinating, and treating the rising population of animals to ensure sustained productivity, especially with the 27% increase in productivity per animal since 2013-14. Working within over 13,000 polyclinics and hospitals and over 33,000 dispensaries to deliver on-site care and breeding services, with a major focus on the 5 states contributing over 50% of the output. Livestock is often referred to as the “living bank” of rural households. Veterinarians enhance this asset by reducing mortality, improving reproductive efficiency, and increasing productivity. Their role in artificial insemination, breed improvement, herd health planning, and preventive medicine significantly raises farmer income.
Role of veterinarian in milk production
Veterinarians play a critical role in enhancing the availability, accessibility, and safety of animal-source foods such as milk, eggs, and meat. India is the world’s largest milk producer. These accomplishments are strongly linked to veterinary interventions in breeding, disease control, nutrition management, and farm advising services.
Veterinarians play an important role in the dairy sector, assuring herd health, fertility, and hygiene. They manage disease prevention through vaccination, optimize animal nutrition for higher yields, and manage reproduction, including artificial insemination. Their expertise ensures food safety, reduces antimicrobial residues, and boosts farmers’ income.
Veterinarians treat and prevent infections such as mastitis (udder infection), which have a significant impact on milk production and quality. They supervise breeding programs (artificial insemination, pregnancy diagnosis), minimizing calving intervals to keep cows in peak output. They develop or modify nutritional diets to ensure that high-producing cows receive adequate nutrients and treat metabolic disorders like as ketosis. Veterinarians ensure milk safety by supervising hygienic milking techniques, monitoring antibiotic use to avoid medication leftovers, and enforcing food safety regulations. They educate farm workers on modern best practices for calf rearing, disease identification, and adequate milking cleanliness. Today, veterinarians play a crucial role in helping farms identify areas of opportunity, leading to more profitable and sustainable operations.
Role of veterinarian in egg production
Today’s poultry industry has been transformed from a mere backyard venture into a highly organized industrial sector and plays a significant role in people’s food security worldwide. Poultry eggs are the most consumed animal protein, and there is an increasing global demand for these items. This creates great potential for expansion in the poultry business, transforming it into one of the agriculture sectors’ most dynamic industries. These opportunities can be fulfilled by implementing smart management, enhanced genetics, advanced nutrition, and illness prevention strategies. Veterinarians are critical to India’s poultry industry, the second-largest in the world, by implementing disease control (vaccination, biosecurity), optimizing nutrition, ensuring high-quality feed, and monitoring reproductive health to maximize egg production. They improve profitability, ensure food safety by reducing chemical residues, and provide technical guidance to farmers. Vets implement essential poultry health programs to manage infectious diseases, reducing reliance on antibiotics and ensuring healthier flocks. They are key in controlling zoonotic diseases and managing biosecurity protocols. They advise on nutritional management, ensuring optimal feed formulations for maximum egg production. Veterinarians guide farmers in selecting, breeding, and improving poultry stock, focusing on birds with higher egg-laying efficiency and resilience. They monitor the sanitation and quality of egg production, ensuring that goods fulfill safety requirements. They train farmers on current, low-cost technologies including enhanced housing and automated systems to increase agricultural profitability and productivity.
Role of veterinarian in meat production
Veterinarians in India play an important role in meat production by assuring food safety, animal welfare, and disease prevention from “farm to fork.” They do necessary ante- and post-mortem inspections to detect zoonotic illnesses, verify compliance with FSSAI food safety regulations, and manage drug residues to avoid public health risks. Their experience improves production efficiency and promotes export standards. To maintain meat safety, official veterinarians check abattoirs both before and after slaughter. They enforce FSSAI regulations to prevent the sale of diseased or unsafe meat, protecting public health. They manage herd health through vaccination programs, biosecurity, and routine checks, reducing the incidence of diseases. This prevents premature death, ensures food security, and decreases the transmission of zoonotic diseases (animal-to-human). Veterinarians advise farmers on scientific rearing procedures, nutrition, and environmental hygiene to optimize meat quality and feed efficiency. Monitoring the use of antibiotics and veterinary drugs, as well as enforcing withdrawal periods before slaughter, is critical for preventing hazardous residues in meat. They certify the health and hygienic status of items, which is required for international export compliance. Veterinarians advocate for sustainable, climate-resilient techniques in animal husbandry, such as enhanced breeding, waste management, and lower environmental footprints.
Role of veterinarian in food safety
Veterinarians perform a key, comprehensive role in food safety by ensuring that animal-derived food is safe from production to consumption, which is commonly referred to as “from stable to table”. They keep track of animal health, manage zoonotic infections, supervise slaughterhouses, control chemical residues, and implement HACCP-based controls.
Veterinarians oversee farm-level biosecurity to prevent contamination from zoonotic diseases (e.g., Salmonella, E. coli) and disease transmission. They ensure that veterinary medications, antimicrobials, and insecticides are used responsibly, lowering the danger of harmful residues entering the food chain. They evaluate animals before and after slaughter to detect infections, ensuring that only healthy animal products reach the food chain. Veterinarians inspect food processing facilities to verify they meet hygiene standards. They play a key role in tracking food borne disease outbreaks back to their source. They verify the health and hygiene status of animals and animal products for export.
Zoonotic illnesses including Salmonella, Campylobacter, and Listeria monocytogenes continue to be serious public health hazards around the world. Veterinarians limit these hazards by inspecting animals before and after slaughter to ensure that diseases do not reach the food chain. For example, studies show that increased veterinarian surveillance and biosecurity measures greatly reduce Salmonella prevalence in chicken. Emerging zoonotic illnesses, such as COVID-19, have highlighted veterinarians’ vital role in monitoring and controlling infections that cross species boundaries, protecting both animal and human health. Veterinarians face various obstacles, such as inadequate resources, growing zoonotic concerns, and the impact of climate change on animal health. Investments in training and technology are critical to provide veterinarians with the tools they need to address growing threats. Furthermore, harmonizing international food safety standards helps ensure uniform procedures across borders, fostering a more unified and successful global food safety strategy. Global organizations such as the OIE and WHO emphasize the importance of veterinarians in meeting food safety and public health objectives.
Conclusion
Veterinarians’ roles in India are evolving from traditional animal care to broad sectoral leadership. Digital technologies, precision livestock husbandry, epidemiological modeling, and integrated health approaches are transforming veterinarian practice. The Viksit Bharat vision places a strong emphasis on India’s livestock and poultry sectors, which provide food security, rural prosperity, and economic resiliency. With strong increase in milk, egg, and meat production, veterinarians play an important role in managing animal health, increasing productivity, and protecting public health. Strengthening veterinary infrastructure, services, and education is critical to fulfilling India’s 2047 development targets. Empowering veterinarians through infrastructure, training, and policy assistance will significantly increase their contribution to national goals. Veterinarians, as guardians of animal health, food safety, and public health, are critical nation builders in India’s quest for sustainable and inclusive development. Veterinarians play a critical role at the junction of agriculture, health, the environment, and the economy. Strengthening veterinary education, services, and leadership would not only improve livestock sector performance, but will also hasten India’s transition to a resilient, prosperous, and developed country.
References
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- Kanjanabh Kumar Das, Role of Veterinary Services in Dairy Health and Productivity Enhancement. 2025. Bio Vet Innovator Magazine. Volume 2 (Issue 6).
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